Trade idea No. 1) Boston Celtics swap Jaylen Brown for Damian Lillard
Like we said in our introduction slide, the Boston Celtics had quite a disappointing 2020-21 campaign.
After making it to within two games of nabbing their first NBA Finals berth in over a decade last season during the Lake Buena Vista bubble, the shamrocks failed to recapture any semblance of similar success in their follow-up campaign, as they finished off the year with a mere .500 record of 36-36 and, as mentioned already, were bounced from the first round in five games.
Something needs to be done should they wish to re-insert themselves into the upper echelon of the league’s elite teams, and upgrading the most important position in the game today should do the trick.
Adding the likes of Damian Lillard, who just posted stellar per-game averages of 28.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep, to a team already in possession of a budding superstar in Jayson Tatum should be of the utmost intrigue for every fan of the Celtics.
Now, of course, attaining someone of the perennial All-Star/ All-NBA talent’s ilk is going to cost quite a pretty penny for any interested buyer. While I, myself, have gone on the record to state him to be one of my favorite players in the league, should Lillard be on the table, Boston would have to give up Jaylen Brown in the process.
A first-time All-Star this past season, the 24-year-old took huge leaps forward in his progressions and posted an impressive stat line of 24.7 points, six boards, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.
Though he and Tatum proved to be quite an impactful tandem on a nightly basis, like we stated earlier, improving upon their guard play should be viewed as more important than trying to keep their wing talent in the conversation for best in the league and, based on what we’re seeing with the Los Angeles Clippers, having a star wing duo may not be the best recipe for success.
With this trade, the Cs seemingly thrust themselves back into the legitimate playoff contenders conversation by partnering arguably the best point guard with arguably the best player under-25 in the league, while Portland brings on a youthful franchise cornerstone in Brown to either partner with CJ McCollum or to simply start from scratch with and look to get pieces to build around him.